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Opening Day

Admin./CERTIFIED GOOSE PIG 2016..... Cedar BC

Well we got to the field on Friday and scouted the situation and made our plans. then when the geese went back to water we went in and cut the layouts into some standing grain, brushed them up and waited for the magic hours. 4:30 am we were back to set the deeks, The first pair came in about 6:30 and the action was hot and heavy till about 10 then it was over and breakfast time. so we packed up and headed back to camp. We were back the next day but the neighbor showed up and sat just on here side of the fence with flashing lights on and honking the horn every time a flock came near. Not near as productive but in the end we had about 35-40 lbs of meat headed for the butcher. All in all it was not a bad opening weekend.

This IS My Life

Nice! Would love to see a CO come by about that time and hand the neighbor a fine for interfering with a legal hunt.
I've never been in the position where I had an overwhelming number of geese to process. I always do my birds myself.
What is the criteria for taking them to a butcher? Do they actually gut and then remove the feathers, or do they just
remove the meat?

This IS My Life

Sounds like you had all your ducks geese in a row for that hunt, Jim! You guys ever bother with an evening hunt? I was talking to FND this morning about a plumbing issue and he said that black lab was right on top of its game. I imagine you guys use a breast splitter to dress those birds. A whole lot less work having one of those, I bet!

This IS My Life

You guys should go sprinkle a bunch of grain in her back yard, then after a few days of the geese being in there non stop eating and crapping all over her lawn and she just might have a change of heart! LOL

Mucho Gusto

Long-Time Member

That's a nice looking pile of meat. I had my first goose burgers at a stag I went to a few weeks ago, they were super good! Good enough that I might even start looking into hunting fowl.

Something I've been wondering about for the totally uninitiated: They call it wing shooting. I'm assuming you're actually shooting for the head? or are you taking out a wing so they hit the ground and dealing with them from there?

I'd be interested in hearing what comes of the neighbor interfering with the hunt!

This IS My Life

That's a nice looking pile of meat. I had my first goose burgers at a stag I went to a few weeks ago, they were super good! Good enough that I might even start looking into hunting fowl.

Something I've been wondering about for the totally uninitiated: They call it wing shooting. I'm assuming you're actually shooting for the head? or are you taking out a wing so they hit the ground and dealing with them from there?

I'd be interested in hearing what comes of the neighbor interfering with the hunt!

Just means shooting at a bird in flight as opposed to shooting it on the ground. You're pretty much just shooting right at the bird instead of picking a spot on the bird while in flight when it's going away from you. In the case of pheasants and grouse you just lead it a little but if it's flying across your view you have to lead it enough so by the time the pellets get to the bird they'll hit it instead of them flying behind the bird. If you're shooting a grouse off the road you place the bead of your shotgun right on the head of the bird.

I'll let Jim explain it in more detail. I've only shot mallards but I imagine with geese since they have a longer neck the head would not be a bad place to aim if the birds aren't too far away but you have to keep swinging your shotgun as you do it. If they're coming down to land in your decoys it's like shooting sitting ducks! LOL

Long-Time Member

Thanks Brent. I've literally never shot a bird with a shotgun. I only seem find them when I'm carrying a centerfire rifle. That being said 270/308/30-30 all kill grouse pretty well if you have a good backstop and figure out the holdover for being so close with a scope a few inches above your barrel :)

Long-Time Member

Thanks Brent. I've literally never shot a bird with a shotgun. I only seem find them when I'm carrying a centerfire rifle. That being said 270/308/30-30 all kill grouse pretty well if you have a good backstop and figure out the holdover for being so close with a scope a few inches above your barrel :)

I grew up hunting ducks and grouse...got my first boat at 11 and shotgun in grade 6 (@12 or 13 iirc)...I had killed hundreds of ducks and dozens of grouse before ever going big game hunting....

after shooting at a grouse with my 303 when I was about 15 while moose hunting I got in a ton of do-do from my dad especially because the rest of the hunting party all came from far and wide to help with my ummmmm moose...doh!!!!..i have never shot grouse while hunting big game ever since (I did get coerced into shooting one a couple of years ago on our way back to camp for lunch because I was sitting at the door and buddy said "come on...just shoot the damn thing" I had suggested "we are deer hunting not grouse hunting"...but relented in the end...

Admin./CERTIFIED GOOSE PIG 2016..... Cedar BC

Brent nailed it Steve, We usually shoot for the body. when you swing you swing through the bird Butt-Body-Beak-BOOM. and keep the muzzle swinging after you pull the trigger. Just a FYI geese and ducks fly at about the same speed so the process holds true for ducks as well.

This IS My Life

I grew up hunting ducks and grouse...got my first boat at 11 and shotgun in grade 6 (@12 or 13 iirc)...I had killed hundreds of ducks and dozens of grouse before ever going big game hunting....

after shooting at a grouse with my 303 when I was about 15 while moose hunting I got in a ton of do-do from my dad especially because the rest of the hunting party all came from far and wide to help with my ummmmm moose...doh!!!!..i have never shot grouse while hunting big game ever since (I did get coerced into shooting one a couple of years ago on our way back to camp for lunch because I was sitting at the door and buddy said "come on...just shoot the damn thing" I had suggested "we are deer hunting not grouse hunting"...but relented in the end...

My exposure to hunting was about the same as yours. Bought my first shot gun just before entering grade 8,,,,a 12 ga. semi auto Remington Sportsman 58. Went on our first one week hunting trip the week of Thanksgiving that year up at my uncle's farm in Alberta. We went several times through my teens and into my early twenties over there. To this day I've never taken a shot at a BC duck! That will change this year. Haven't shot a goose before. I would like to rectify that situation as well since I bought a nice SA 12 ga. from Foxton's Fine Gun Emporium. Box a case of the heavy artillery. LOL

When I moved up to Kelowna when I was 25 I traded in my 12 ga. for a 20 ga. O/U at a outdoors trading depot up there (Bear Creek Trading Post),,,,the 20 ga. is what I consider to be the ideal upland bird gun. I know I've shot upwards of a thousand birds with that shot gun. I plan on getting buried with it! AND I have no qualms about shooting grouse while deer hunting. I do it all the time! I can't tell you how many times I've shot several birds out of a family of grouse,,,,sometimes a limit's worth when there was over ten in the family grouping to come around the next corner and find a buck feeding just off the road in a cut block.

I honestly don't think shooting grouse along the way has affected my chances of shooting a deer while road hunting. That being said, I still get the majority of my deer while on foot but some people I've taken have gotten every deer from the road while we shot grouse. I don't think I've ever attempted to shoot a grouse with any caliber of rifle before.

This IS My Life

Thanks Brent. I've literally never shot a bird with a shotgun. I only seem find them when I'm carrying a centerfire rifle. That being said 270/308/30-30 all kill grouse pretty well if you have a good backstop and figure out the holdover for being so close with a scope a few inches above your barrel :)

When you move to the mainland Steve, I'll take you out sometime, up near the cabin. You can use my 20 ga. Hopefully you can go mid week. Now that I'm a retired guy, I try to avoid the weekend warrior thing. Sure did that for a good long while, though, and I'm not missing it! Haha

Long-Time Member

When you move to the mainland Steve, I'll take you out sometime, up near the cabin. You can use my 20 ga. Hopefully you can go mid week. Now that I'm a retired guy, I try to avoid the weekend warrior thing. Sure did that for a good long while, though, and I'm not missing it! Haha

It's the other young member of team diapers moving off the rock (fella), but I'd happily take you up on that offer. I've got a 20g weatherby pump I'm smitten with too, it just seems to be grouse repellent here on the island.

Can't keep a beat.

Congrats on a great opening! Brings back memories of hunting near Oak hammock Marsh outside wpg. Lots of decoys and lots of geese!
We plucked all the birds by hand in the garage. A dip in the wax and then into the kitchen. There they were gutted rinsed and usually packed in water and frozen whole. Same with ducks. They went into a half gallon paper milk container with water. Mom made feather tics for everyone. My thumbs are now so arthritic from plucking birds, I cant hang on to anything, Lol.